Identity and Belonging Expository Essay

1292 Words6 Pages
Identity and Belonging Expository essay At certain times in our lives we can be forced to re-evaluate who we are and where we truly belong. Discuss. As human beings we share 99.9% of the same DNA, however, it is throughout the course of our lives that we determine the 0.1% that makes us individual. Our identity is never stagnant; it is always altering, amending and developing. The process of finding ourselves is prevalent during adolescence but can also be brought about by other significant events in our lives, or by the influence of social expectations. In some cases, circumstances can force us into a period of re-definition, such as war, migration, or being a refugee. This occurs worldwide and creates a wave of migration. The SBS documentary series, Once upon a time in Cabramatta tells of a typical migration story where the Hoang family, among many others, were forced to re-evaluate who they were and where they belonged. With Australia having no infrastructure to prepare for the large numbers of non-English speaking migrants, traditional families were being torn apart as they were struggling to adapt and didn’t feel accepted in an alien culture. Alienation of migrants led to violence and crime in a venture to find a new type of belonging due to both parents becoming the breadwinners and not being able to be present for the children. Children were being lost to the street, typically joining gangs to group together to find a new belonging. The ‘5 T’ was a gang meaning ‘young people missing love’ who were looking for a belonging in destructive places and ways. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Men turned to alcohol and violence from migration and new and past trauma such as War. These issues typically divided families. This story is repeated from family after family in the sense that anything was to be done in order to survive and have a new, good life.
Open Document